Podcast

Check out our sneak preview of "Getting into MIT Sloan School of Management." Join us on a trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts to MIT Sloan School of Management. Find out what qualities MIT Sloan looks for in candidates from Director of Admissions Rod Garcia. Meet some fellow "Sloanies" and learn about their experiences on campus. This guide to getting into MIT Sloan covers everything you need to know about Sloan's condensed core curriculum, international character, close-knit student body, ties to the technology industry and specialized offerings - such as the program's certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. If you have your eyes set on applying and getting into MIT Sloan, you won't want to miss this! To view the full video, visit www.mbapodtv.com

Guests Include:

Rod Garcia, Director of Admissions, MIT Sloan

Chika Ekeji, MIT Sloan MBA 2011

Geraldine Mary Hough, MIT Sloan MBA 2011

Ariel Santos, MIT Sloan MBA 2010

Karan Singh, MIT Sloan MBA 2011

Dilini Fernando: Welcome to MBA PodTV.I’m your host Dilini Fernando.I’m here at MIT Sloan where the top business schools in the country featuring some of the top research centers in the world.

Sloan offers a unique MBA experience, known for its highly quantitative and analytical focus, its entrepreneurial center and its flexible curriculum.Now, like any other top business schools, getting into MIT Sloan is highly competitive.

Today, we’re bringing you application advice directly from Sloan’s Director of Admissions, Rod Garcia.You’ll also meet several Sloan students who share with you their experiences of Sloan.So stay with us as we share with you how to get into MIT Sloan School of Management.

Rod Garcia: You know the students who would be very happy here are students who are independent and who have a lot of self initiative and who don’t require a lot of infrastructure.In many ways, this is a very low infrastructure place.I mean, this is not a top down, you know, organization.This is a very, very flat organization, very, very entrepreneurial. A lot of things, you know, happen. You know, grass roots level and they just sort off, you know, bubble to the top.

Ariel Santos: I think one of the things about MIT faculty that I’ve seen is that their very accessible. You can sort of go and knock on any of their doors and say, “Hey, I’d like to meet with you.Your research did this.I just want to ask you some questions.” or “I don’t get this part of class, can I talk to you about it?”

And they’re really engaged.They’re very interested.Their doors are always open to talk to students.

Chika Ekeji: If you want the freedom to really build the curriculum around your interest then MIT Sloan is really the place for you because they allow you a lot of flexibility.Even starting in your first semester, you do get a choice of electives even then.

Depending on what you want to focus on, if you say you want to go to entrepreneurship, particularly technical entrepreneurship, energy for example -then the cutting edge work around those areas, development of initiatives – these are really the areas where Sloan as an institute excels.

Geraldine Mary Hough: People on the inside are extremely driven, extremely smart, extremely capable and have a lot of interesting things to share.But on the outside, they’re so approachable and so friendly that you wouldn’t necessarily know right off the bat just how smart these people are.But it comes out over the course of the year as you work together and you travel together and you get involved in class projects.

Chika Ekeji: Sloanies are – they tend to be very smart but also very relaxed. They’re not tense, they’re not hyper competitive to the point where it becomes unhealthy. And they are able to relax and have a good time as needed.And so I think the culture here is productive, effective but laid-back.

Dilini Fernando: Now, every business school application is going to be slightly different. And if you pay attention to the questions that are asked, you’ll not only get a sense of the philosophy but also what the school is looking for in a candidate.The Sloan application for example asks for a 500-word cover letter, much like you would give out when you’re trying to get a job.

Let’s hear more about this application from Director of Admissions, Rod Garcia.

Rod Garcia: People change careers and we expect that.And this is one reason why we never ask for people’s – we never ask people to articulate what their career goals are because they really don’t know yet what they want to do until after they leave this place.One common mistake that applicants make when they write their essays is they tend to focus on the results on usually successful you know results and what they’ve done – what they’ve achieved.

What we are really interested in is, you know, how they accomplish these things, right?It’s not to hear that they achieved, you know, this – or they’ve attained this but rather, you know, how they got there. What kinds of attributes they used to convince people or to influence people or to change people’s mind.

I mean, those are the things, you know, we want to hear rather than just simply asserting that, you know, I’ve accomplish this, this, and this.

Ariel Santos: I think the biggest advice I usually give is make sure that you’re applying to MIT Sloan and not applying to an MBA program.So and I think that holds true for whatever you’re applying is.Every business school is different and they do different things and they sort of pride themselves from things and everybody’s – the fit for everybody is at maybe a different place.

So, if you’re applying at MIT Sloan, figure out why is it that you want to go to MIT Sloan, not why you want to get an MBA. And I think that will help both your chances and also your process to try sort of narrow down which schools you want to go to.And then the other thing is be honest and show your passion because I think MIT Sloan is a place that sort of let’s people show their passion whether be in entrepreneurship or finance or consulting.

And let – figure out what your passions are as you go into your MBA and make sure that’s show through your essays and show in your interview so people really know what it is that you’re about.

Dilini Fernando: So I can tell you from my own experience that curriculum in a top business school will be challenging, demanding but extremely rewarding.Here at MIT Sloan, they’re known for the rigorous academic program which means for a candidate, it’s important to clearly communicate your capabilities either through your GMAT or your academic transcripts.Another quality that MIT Sloan looks for is previous work success.

Rod Garcia: And to us work success is define as, you know, where you are in your life’s age relative to the people your age not how much money you make, not how many promotions you’ve had but where are you relative to your peers.I mean, are you just where you’re supposed to be?Are you behind your peers or are you ahead of your peers?

And naturally we’d like to select people who are ahead of their peers.We’re also looking for personal attributes or leadership attributes.So this would be things like your drive, you know, drive and vision, your relationship building or trust building skills, integrity.We’re looking for people who can think outside the box and who can apply non conventional solutions to conventional problems.And naturally creativity – I mean creativity and innovation.I mean, this is – this is MIT and we reward people who are creative and innovative.

The final thing I would say is, you know, we’re looking for people who have the presence.We are after all looking for leaders, we’re looking for managers and influential leaders, influential managers, you know, have the presence to persuade, to convince, to influence, to move people.So, I mean, these are the things that we’re looking for in our candidates regardless of, you know, their background.

So, someone coming from a non-traditional background should be thinking of these things that I mentioned.And similarly, I would say the same thing for someone who comes from a traditional background.We all look for the same things.

Geraldine Mary Hough: Share what drives you and what’s interesting about you and do it in a genuine way because that’s really the type of person that goes here.It’s really that interesting, very capable type of person but that just comes across in a very approachable manner.

Karan Singh:Use the application in the admissions process (inaudible) a chance to reflect and figure out what you find important, what you really want to do. And talk to a lot of people but, you know, be introspective.You know, keep a journal.I think that’s one thing that I definitely found useful at the course of the summer before the admission process is just to start to right down anecdotes of ideas of topics of things that you’re interested in that you might be able to elaborate on in a form of an essay and that, you know, in the form of discussions with the admissions team.

Rod Garcia: My advice whether they apply here or other schools is to visit the school. Because that’s the only way that one can really get a sense of what the place is.When someone has visited the school, someone can talk about the school on a more personal basis.And we can tell whether someone is speaking from the head or from the heart.

And you know, that’s easy.You know, you can see that from the essays.You can get that from the interviews.I guess in my, you know, in my experience, I guess it’s easier to move us if someone is speaking from the heart.

Dilini Fernando: Well, thank you for spending time with us.I hope you learned a little bit more about MIT Sloan and how to prepare your application.

That’s it for now on MBA PodTV.I’m your host Dilini Fernando.Visit us at MBAPodcaster.com where you can register for weekly audio and video shows. Join us on Facebook and Twitter with the latest news and insights on your MBA Application process.

Welcome to the world of MIT Sloan

At MIT Sloan, a strong sense of community serves as the essence of who we are, with innovation and collaboration at the heart of what we do. Once you set foot on campus, not only will you see the diversity of our students and faculty, but also of the wide-range of customized offerings available to MBA candidates - both inside and outside the classroom.

"Learning by doing" is a cornerstone of the MIT Sloan experience, and hands-on, concept-based opportunities serve as the ultimate embodiment of the School's mens et manus motto. The linking of "mind" and "hand" is at the heart of providing students with unique course offerings that create a depth of knowledge through real-world experiences that demand exploration, innovation, and leadership. Intrigued? If so, join us for a campus tour; peruse the biographies of our world-renowned professors; and meet with our students from around the globe or read about their experiences in our MBA Viewbook. Then decide whether you can see yourself working toward your MBA at MIT Sloan.

A world of possibility, a world of opportunity

When MIT Sloan was renamed on behalf of benefactor Alfred P. Sloan Jr. in 1964, the former chairman of General Motors stated, "The School will never be finished. It will always be a work in progress, anticipating and responding to a changing world." Sloan's prophesy has proven true - as clearly evidenced by the ongoing evolution of both our courses and our campus.

What remains constant, however, is our reputation as one of the leading management, science, and technical institutions in the world, which in turn attracts top corporations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to seek out and recruit our students for employment. Those with an entrepreneurial interest will also find themselves at home in an educational ecosystem built to foster innovation and creativity, which has led to the formation of successful companies of all kinds worldwide.

See Yourself at MIT Sloan

We view the business school experience as a time of exploration, and MIT Sloan's unique one-semester "core" curriculum builds the foundation necessary for the development of fundamental skills. The one-semester core also permits the freedom and flexibility for you to choose electives in the preceding three semesters. In other words, 75 percent of your courses are electives of your choosing, providing a wide-range of experiences here and abroad that will prove to be one of the most valuable experiences of your career.

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